“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” – Frederick Douglass
The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Regional Office (RO) VII initiated a webinar to spread awareness and information on teenage pregnancy and violence against women and children (VAWC) yesterday, October 25, 2022, via Zoom and Facebook Live.
With the theme “Untold Stories of Childhood to Parenthood: The Realities of Teenage Pregnancy and Violence against Women and Children,” CHED RO VII aimed to continue its fight by educating the 13,000 registered participants from various higher education institutions (HEIs) of the provinces of Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor, and Negros Oriental.
“You may not need the information today, but the knowledge today could save a life tomorrow,” CHED RO VII’s Regional Director Dr. Maura Consolacion D. Cristobal stated.
Meanwhile, Dr. Laurence L. Garcia, Cebu Normal University’s (CNU) secretary and the board’s Officer-in-Charge (OIC), faculty of CNU – College of Nursing (CN), and the Founding Director of Research Institute for Aging and Health graced the occasion as the first resource speaker.
He highlighted how adolescent pregnancy in the Philippines calls for a national emergency, followed by a presentation of a study conducted by his team that aimed to uncover the realities of teenage mothers in Cebu City.
To end his discussion, he quoted Franklin D. Roosevelt, “We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.”
Movement against domestic violence
Dr. Catalina M. Canasa, a fellow faculty member from the CNU – College of Teacher Education (CTE), a writer, and a research adviser attended as the second resource speaker.
Canasa shared her own experience of domestic abuse from childhood and different ways to possibly stop or prevent domestic violence.
“We have the choice. Mayroon tayong karapatang pumili upang gawin nating maunlad ang ating buhay,” Canasa added.
Additionally, she went on to discuss protective legal measures while simultaneously urging the participants, especially those victims, to change their fate by actively fighting violence in their own way.
In his closing remarks, CHED RO VII’s Education Supervisor Program Specialist Dr. Josefino E. Ronquillo said, “Every individual is a gift and need not be abused but has to be loved and cared [for].” §
Words and Screenshots by Kimberly Keith Gonzaga and Marjuice Destinado
